This invention relates generally to medical inhalers and more particularly to inhalers adapted for use on an infant.
Medicating the lungs of a patient having respiratory problems is an ancient art. Indigenous natives have long had sweat lodges which used special herbs for the treatment of a variety of ailments.
In more modern times, the same technique is still being used, the introduction of a medication into the lungs of the patient to either treat the lungs themselves or to be absorbed into the blood stream through the lungs. What has changed dramatically is the effectiveness of the medications themselves and the range of ailments that these medications are capable of reaching.
The key to all of these medications remains, how to effectively deliver the proper dosage into the patient's lungs?
To address this problem, a variety of "inhalers" have been developed. These inhalers range in application from the asthma spray applied by the patient herself to inhalers which are used on patients who are unable to administer the inhaler themselves. It is this latter group which is of particular interest as often the physician, nurse, or other care-giver must determine if the proper dosage has been administered and not left within the inhaler.
This problem is accentuated for infants who have extremely low expiration pressures and very small tidal displacements. Since the tidal displacement is so very small, it often requires many respirations for the full dosage to be administered.
To address this problem, a variety of instruments have been developed. One such instrument is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,089, entitled "Valved Auxiliary Device for Use With Aerosol Container" issued to Kraemer on Jun. 27, 1995. This instrument is designed to be placed over the mouth and nose of an infant while the proper dosage is administered into a rigid mixing reservoir. The infant's normal respiration draws in from the mixing reservoir and exhales into the environment.
Unfortunately, this apparatus is particularly difficult to use. Using the instrument of Kraemer requires the use of two hands by the care-giver while the medication is being administered into the mixing reservoir. This means that the infant must either be held by a third party or be in a lying position on a bed or examining table. Either of these methods is difficult to administer.
With rigid mixing reservoirs, each breath entrains ambient air, so that the medication concentration declines with each subsequent breath.
It is clear that there is a need for an improved infant inhaler.